You got your dream job but you accepted an offer that was $20,000 below market. You got the perfect job in a company whose other employees you can’t abide and who don’t like you either. The company said 20 percent travel and you haul out Sunday night and return on Thursday. Your partner is using Match.com at a library.

The wages of sin may be death but the misery of inadequate research is far worse since you’re still alive. Can you imagine not discovering the going rate for the job if you’d networked it sufficiently? Did you check references on your about-to-be tribe with former employees? Did you ask a prospective colleague how much time she spent in the office? Did your interview on a Monday turn up miles of still, empty offices? Did you think it was coincidence or an unusual occurrence?

Inevitably, the people who skimp on in-depth job research are those who wouldn’t put a quarter in a slot machine. They think gamblers are stupid. They gamble with their careers as if the consequences were trivial. The rule: Anything that causes emotional pain is to be assiduously avoided. What could cause more pain than finding yourself underpaid by $20,000? The only worse scenario is asking your boss to adjust your salary and being told, “We asked what salary you wanted and we met your price.”

You won’t last in any of these scenarios more than six months even if the Great Depression returned. Why put yourself through this emotional unnecessary roughness? Never go to a final interview anticipating an offer until you’ve verified the salary range with a dozen sources. Didn’t you notice that the people you met were “not our kind deary?”

The only thing more important to job hunting success than thorough research is trusting your instincts. Listen to your gut. If you instinctively dislike the people you meet or the environment is depressing, this is not the job for you. Accept an offer at your peril however good you think it is.

When in doubt ask for another interview or another tour or to meet more co-workers. Don’t even consider ignoring your unease. The moment the company makes an offer is as good as it gets. Like a Rush party everyone is at his or her best. If you aren’t thrilled, but feel you should accept, it’s time to take a pass.